Psalm 33

1Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous. Praise befits the upright. 2Praise the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings. 3Sing to him a new song; play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

Lord,
Here I confess my learning disability.
“Rejoice in the Lord”, I do with joy. But the lyre and harp and strings are beyond my ability. What’s a non-musician to do? The poet said, “play skillfully on strings”. That leaves most of us out.
I think that I could do it if music were indeed an instrument of praise. But in recent years, instead of being an instrument of praise, it’s been an occasion for performance and narcissistic self-aggrandizement. I recently attended “worship” and came away wondering if the organ was God and You were merely an excuse to listen to the music. The preacher nearly apologized for preaching the sermon!
Forgive me Lord. I really don’t want to be this way. But I am weary of the arguments and the egos and even the wars that have marked my church musical experience.
In a few minutes, I’ll go to worship and try again to praise you with singing but, please do not expect too much. Forgive me where I am wrong.
Don’t let me stop here. The poet began with the word “Rejoice.” For the beauty of this day, the deep security of your love, the promise that you listen even to my nonsense, the guidance of your Spirit, the life, death, and resurrection of your Son, the joy of abiding friendship, the memory of loving parents, the experience of children and grandchildren, a lifetime with a loving wife, the hope of heaven and more than I can enumerate, I rejoice and give you thanks.
PERSONAL PRAYERS:
Be aware of God’s presence and declare your joy.
Name 5 things for which you are grateful and say “Thank you” to God.
In Christ’s name,
Amen